18 Dec 2007 - "Press Release"

SERVICE HELPS RESOLVE COMPLAINTS IN JUST THREE DAYS

The majority of complaints logged by the Dental Complaints Service are resolved within a speedy three working days, according to the service’s first annual report, which is published today (embargoed until 00:01hrs Tuesday, December 2007).

The service, which helps resolve complaints about private dental care, logged more than 1,500 complaints in its first year of operation, according to the report, the front cover of which bears the Service’s straight-talking motto, “helping you to put things right”.

The Service has come from nowhere with a new way to handle complaints in healthcare and public services – sensitively, cost effectively, but above all, quickly.

“Speed is crucial. All the evidence shows that the longer a complaint takes to resolve, the less likely it is to be resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties involved who tend to become more and more entrenched,” says Derek Prentice, who chairs the Service. It was set up, is funded by, but operates independently of the UK dental regulator, the General Dental Council.

More than half of the 1,559 complaints logged and closed by the Service in its first year were resolved over the phone, often by urging the patient and dental professional to talk.
One in six callers contacted the Service at the suggestion of a dental professional. The South East, London and the South West yielded most complaints per head of population; Scotland, the North East and – by far – Northern Ireland yielded least.

“These patients would otherwise have been left with few other options,” says Mr Prentice. “In addition to speed of response and action, we’ve built the service with an emphasis on being fair and impartial in all we do, and take pride in the transparency of our process. ”

The success of the Service is also due to the very positive response it has received from dental professionals, who have praised it for its even-handedness. Many dental professionals have called it for advice generally, and some about apparently intractable complaints.

More than 5,000 enquiries were made to the Service using its local rate complaints hotline (08456 120540) over the year. Half were about NHS dental services. These were redirected to the appropriate NHS contact.

“Helping you to put things right” may involve recommending an apology to the patient, a refund of fees and/or a contribution by a dental practice towards remedial treatment. It may also involve helping the patient to understand that a complaint is unjustified.

“Resolving complaints successfully is a crucial test for a profession,” says Mr Prentice. “Through the GDC, the dental profession has risen to the challenge – at least, where private dental care is concerned. The NHS should take note and follow.”

Of the 1,500-plus complainants, over three-quarters were initially referred back to their dental practice’s own complaints procedures. Of those, fewer than one in five returned to the Dental Complaints Service with their complaint unresolved.

If a practice cannot resolve the complaint, then the Dental Complaints Service’s advisers offer to help to sort it out informally with the patient and their dental professional. In 16 cases, complaints were referred further, to meetings facilitated by a panel of trained volunteers, the last step in the service’s attempts to resolve a complaint. Five of the 16 panels concluded that there was no complaint to answer.

Across the UK, most complaints have been about dentists, with a few about other dental professionals. Most complaints concerned solely private treatment, but a few were about mixed NHS/private treatment. Treatment issues included fillings, crowns and dentures, and service issues have included pain, cost and rudeness.

Most of the dental professionals who provided feedback rated the Service’s performance as “excellent” or “good”. Four out of five complainants offering feedback rated quality of service in the same way.

Complaints that raise issues about patient safety and whether a practitioner should be allowed to continue practising continue to be dealt with by the GDC.

To contact the Dental Complaints Service, call 08456 120540 (local rate), visit www.dentalcomplaints.org.uk, or email info@dentalcomplaints.org.uk.